Love
by Jez0209
Summary: Uncertain times call for nothing else. Set after "Endure."


_**Hi, everyone!**_

 _ **So this is something I uploaded a while ago in Spanish, and it is until now that I have finally found the time to complete the translation and upload it in English.**_

 _ **I hope you like it!**_

 **Love**

Mako woke up to the smell of freshly made coffee and the lingering feeling of a feather-like kiss on the bare skin of her shoulder. She opened her eyes. She was lying on her side, so she flipped around to rest on her back. She found a pair of vibrant blue eyes gazing at her adoringly.

"Hey," he greeted her. He smelled like shampoo and aftershave.

"Hey," she replied, smiling sleepily. "What time is it?" she asked him.

"9:30," Raleigh said. Upon hearing this, Mako sat up abruptly, tossing aside the blankets that had been covering her body, and getting up from bed as fast as she could. "Mako…," he called out, but she ignored him; she was too busy pacing around the room, pulling out clothes from drawers here and there while Raleigh observed her with utter fascination.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Mako huffed, while she struggled to free a coat from a hanger in the closet. When he didn't reply, she turned her head to look at him and shot him a dead glare. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her with an amused expression on his face. Mako frowned and eyed him curiously.

"It's our day off," he stated finally, smirking. Mako relaxed and loosened the firm grasp she had on the piece of clothing she was holding.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she complained.

"You didn't ask," he replied with the same boyish goofy smile still on hi slips. "I was thinking that since we are not going to the Shatterdome, maybe we could do something different today," he suggested.

"What do you have in mind?" she inquired while she waltzed around the room putting away some clothes.

"It´s been a long time since we've been to Hong Kong," he retorted in a cautious tone, expectant. Mako froze as soon as she heard those words.

"It's too far," she said flatly not meeting his eyes, placing an undershirt inside a drawer with more strength than she intended.

"I'm sure Herc won't mind if we take a couple more days off," he rebutted. After saying this, Raleigh waited for Mako's reaction, who in that moment was with her back to him. When she finally turned around, she fixed her dark eyes on him. "If we hurry, we can still get a flight before noon," he added, unwilling to yield to the pleading look in Mako's eyes.

"Raleigh, I need time."

Raleigh looked at her. He was well aware of what she was trying to convey with those words, but he was also aware that this was something they had to do, and that if they didn't do it this way, they would never do it. It was about time to leave the ghosts from their pasts behind.

"Take all the time you need," he told her. "I'll be waiting outside", he added and stood up.

Mako opened her mouth as if to say something, but it was too late for Raleigh had already left the room, gently closing the door behind him. Mako sighed heavily, defeated. She had no other choice but to get ready for the long day she had ahead.

They were able to catch a flight before noon, landing in Hong Kong in the afternoon. They took a bus to the city's coastal side amidst the deafening noise in the airport.

"What did you first think of me when you met me?" Mako asked him, startling him as he was too lost in thought and had believed her asleep.

"Honestly?" he said, averting his gaze from the small window he had been looking through since they had started the trip.

"Yes."

"I thought you were really pretty," he answered nonchalantly. Mako moved slightly away from him, and gave him a disapproving look.

"I'm serious, Raleigh."

"Me too," he replied. "I thought you were really beautiful, and after you insulted me, I thought you were something else; that you were special."

"I didn't insult you," she protested with feigned indignation. "I just pointed out that I had imagined you different." Raleigh smiled and directed his gaze towards the small window beside him, his face growing serious all of the sudden.

"You know, Mako? I was used to being surrounded by people who were always telling me how great I was and how grateful they were I had saved their lives, even after Yancy died. You and your words were a breath of fresh air," he muttered. "What did you think of me?" Mako gave it some thought before replying.

"I thought you were very young to be the talented pilot the Marshal always talked about," she uttered after a few seconds and made a pause, "and that you were very handsome," she admitted quietly, eliciting a small smile from Raleigh.

"So you planned on seducing me from day one?"

"I didn't plan on seducing you!"

"Really? Because now that I think about it, it did look as if you were trying to seduce me."

"I was not," Mako protested, making Raleigh's smile grow wider.

"I don't know about that," he said. "Don't think I didn't notice the way you looked at me when you saw me shirtless."

Mako stared at him wide eyed and blushed. After months and months of seeing much more that simply his bare torso, she still wasn't used to.

"Raleigh!" she scolded him.

"So you were not trying to seduce me?"

"Of course not."

"Because I was," he said, and Mako's eyes landed on him. "That until I realized you were Marshal Pentecost's daughter."

Mako smiled ruefully at the mention of her father's last name, and Raleigh took her hand in his.

"You know I love you," he said sternly and kiss the top of her hand.

"Yes," she mumbled and leaned in for a kiss. They pulled away when they felt the bus come to a halt.

"We're here," he announced and stood up.

The distance from the bus stop to their destination wasn't much. They walked a couple of blocks before reaching the bay. It was cold and cloudy and Raleigh took Mako by the hand. She shivered when she felt the cool sea breeze hitting her face.

They walked hand in hand until they reached the coast, and stopped right at the edge of a lonely dock. The wind was blowing hard, agitating the sea before them; the bitter cold soaking through the bone. Mako was trembling while Raleigh, who had grown accustomed to Anchorage's crude winters, stood still, immutable. They were both wearing heavy wool coats. Raleigh had both of his hands in his pockets while Mako had her right hand in her pocket and the other inside one of Raleigh's pockets, holding onto his hand tightly.

They remained quiet for a bit, on their feet, each one lost in their own thoughts while staring, absorbed, at the magnificent ocean before them.

"It really has been a while since we last were here," he said in a gruff voice, "since the day after we close the Breach," he added in a more casual tone.

Mako said nothing to that. Since the day she had realized she would never see the Marshal again, she had refused to cover the topic or anything remotely linked to it.

"Hermann says the Kaijus can come back at any moment," Mako said absent-mindedly all of the sudden. Raleigh looked at her. He could see her hot breath turning into a cloud of white vapour as it came in contact with the cold environment. "It can be days, weeks; even months. What will we do when that happens?" she asked him. Raleigh briefly pondered before replying.

"We'll fight. That's what we'll do," he said confidently, looking at her in the eyes. "Together," he went on and turned his eyes back to the ocean. "They'll come back no matter what we do. All we can do is wait."

They got lost in the ocean and in their own thoughts again; in the place where the Breach used to be, where they had closed it. Where Marshal Pentecost and Chuck Hansed had let out their last breath.

"He trusted you," Mako blurted out.

"Sorry?" he replied. He had heard her, but he wasn't quite sure what she meant.

"My father," she muttered. Raleigh fixed his eyes on Mako. It wasn't common to hear her talking about the Marshal as her father. "He would have never allowed me to pilot Gipsy with you if he hadn't. The reason why he wouldn't let you near me at first was because he knew you would be the man taking his little girl away from him".

"He told you that?"

"He was my father, Raleigh. I knew him."

After a brief pause, Raleigh said:

"We'd better get going. It's getting dark and soon it'll be colder," Mako nodded silently.

Raleigh turned around to leave and so did Mako. She clung to his arm and they resumed walking. While they sauntered away, she looked back at the ocean one last time. To where the Breach used to be; where they had closed it. Where her father and Chuck had let out their last breath.

She looked ahead and drew nearer to Raleigh. He kissed the top of her head.

Walking away, darkness began to descend on the streets of Hong Kong.

Mako sighed. They still had a long way to go.

 **So this is it. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it and then translating it.**

 **I would very much like to read your comments.**

 **See you next time! **


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